Three Days
by Beabear
Summary: Nico is sentenced to live with a boy that he hates and often likes to refer to as his captor. Also known as Will Solace. But as time goes on, Nico can't help but feel Will's infectious glow every second.
1. Day 1

Three days. That's all Nico do Angelo expected to stay in the infirmary. That's all he wanted to stay in the infirmary for. Well, if he had it this way he wouldn't be in the infirmary at all. But Will Solace refused to let him out even though Nico insisted that he was fine. He even tried to leave when Will's back was turned, but the son of Apollo had ears like a hawk and was standing in front of him before he even realized.

"Bed. Now." Will had instructed.

"But-" Nico began to protest but Will turned him around and pushed him back to bed.

He grumbled the whole way, but Will wasn't going to listen to any of it. After Will made sure Nico was settled in, he disappeared among the other children of Apollo to tend to the other demigods. The infirmary was fairly full. There were people being fed ambrosia. Others were getting stitches or having their arms or legs wrapped into a cast.

Nico stayed in his bed, watching everyone around him. He held his hand up to the light and saw that it was translucent against it. Nico knew he was in pretty bad shape, but he hadn't realized how bad. He still felt like he was running on an adrenalin high and was still having trouble getting the image of Octavian out of his head.

He didn't mean to fall asleep. But as soon as his head touched the pillow his eyes drooped and became unconscious to the world.

For the first time in a very long time, Nico didn't have any dreams. No nightmares of Tartarus. No sweet memories of Bianca. He didn't even dream of Percy. It was blissful, much needed sleep.

When Nico woke he realized two things. The sun was setting and he was starving. His stomach growled like an angry beast. The infirmary was much more empty than it had been when he fell asleep. Nico counted three people in there other than himself. But he also didn't spot Will. He was tempted to slip out of bed and return to Cabin 13, but Nico had the feeling that Will would be out there somewhere and give him a lecture as to why he needed to stay in the infirmary.

"Afternoon, sleepy head." A voice suddenly said next to him, causing Nico to jump. He looked over and realized that Will was sitting in the chair next to the bed.

"What are you doing?" Nico asked.

"Waiting for you to wake up. Sleep good?"

"You don't have to wait for me."

"Yes I did." Will protested. "It's what a good doctor does. Besides, a lot of people agreed that someone should be here watching you 24/7. Jason was here earlier. And Piper. Lou Ellen was here for a little while, but then something happened and her magic was needed elsewhere. Clovis stopped in but I kicked him out for falling asleep on the job. Even Percy stopped in for a while."

A sick feeling settled in Nico's stomach. All those people had stopped in to watch...him? They wanted to? Chiron hadn't asked them to? The idea made Nico uncomfortable. "What time is it?" He asked.

"Hm..." Will thought for a moment, looking at the setting sun. "About 6:30 p.m."

"Where's dinner? Aren't you supposed to be a good doctor and have all my meals set out for me?"

"I did last night, but I didn't know how long you'd be asleep for."

"Last night? How long have I been sleeping for?"

"About a day."

Nico mulled that over. Over the past week he'd been sleeping more and more. But he'd also pushed himself past his limit. He had the feeling that after this past mini-coma, his sleep was finally caught up to him.

Unconsciously, Nico yawned and moved his skull ring. He heard Will stifle a laugh.

"What?"

"N-nothing." Will shook his head and stood up from his chair. The boy turned his face so Nico couldn't see his cheeks turning red. With his back to Nico, Will began walking out. "Stay here," He called. "I'll go get you dinner."

Nico held back a yawn as Will returned with a bowl of soup, a grilled cheese sandwich, and a glass of what he assumed to be nectar.

"You're not feeding that to me."

"Come on, Nico. Let me play doctor."

"No."

Will rolled his eyes, but left the tray of food next to him. Nico wasn't in the mood to eat in front of Will, so he sat in bed, glaring at Will hoping that he would leave.

"I hope you know that I'm not leaving until you eat something." Will rested his hand of the edge of the bed and stared intently at Nico with his baby blue eyes.

"What," Nico spat. "Don't trust me to eat?"

Will shook his head. "I trust you completely. I don't want you to eat and then get sick afterwards."

Nico glared at Will for several more moments before pulling the bowl of soup over, ripped a piece of the grilled cheese and dipped it into his soup before eating it slowly. "Happy?" Nico asked after he swallowed part of his dinner.

"Very."

Will sat back down in the chair next to Nico, who continued eating periodically. With his eyes closed, Will leaned the chair against the wall and began humming a familiar tune. The words were just a leap away for Nico, but he couldn't quite place the song.

"What are you humming?" Nico asked after Will had finished and the tune started over.

"You've heard of the song 'You are my sunshine' before haven't you?"

Nico thought that the song would be familiar, but he admitted that he didn't know.

Will smiled. He cleared his throat and began singing.

"_You are my sunshine_

_My only sunshine_

_You make me hap-py when skies are gray._

_You'll never know dear_

_How much I love you_

_So please don't take_

_My sunshine away._"

When Will finished his eyes opened again. Glancing at Nico, Will realized that the son of Hades had fallen asleep. His chest rose and fell softly, and he was breathing slowly through his mouth instead of his nose. Half of the grilled cheese sandwich was still in his hand and Nico left the glass of nectar untouched.

"Sweet dreams, death boy." Will said. He took away the sandwich half and picked up the tray but he left the cup of nectar. Knowing Nico, he would leave the glass alone unless Will made him drink it. But he could at least try.


	2. Day 2

When Nico woke up this time, the sun was up. And who was sitting next to him but Will Solace. Nico rolled his eyes. What was up with this boy?

"Solace. Go home."

"Huh?" Will suddenly woke up. The chair fell forward, bringing Will with him. He collapsed on the ground with a profound 'Shit.'

He quickly sat up and pushed the chair off of his back. His shaggy blond hair fell over his eyes. When Will stood, he saw Nico struggling not to laugh.

"So you laugh at my pain, but you don't laugh when I try and make a joke?"

"That's because your jokes are terrible." Nico coughed, putting on a straight face again.

Will sighed and blew the hair out of his face before crossing his arms. "You're going to be the death of me, death boy."

"Stop calling me that." Nico insisted, not overly find of his new nickname. The dark haired son of Hades pushed the blankets off of his body-which was becoming more solid by the hour. He swung his skinny legs to the side of the bed and prepared to stand.

"What are you doing?" Will asked.

"I can't stay in bed all day, dumb butt." Nico hissed. "See, I don't know about you, but most people have to use the bathroom after they've slept for a good twenty-four hours."

Will was hesitant about letting Nico out of his sight, but he knew that it wouldn't be pretty of he made Nico stay in bed much longer. "Fine. You go to the bathroom and I'll wait here."

"You don't have to wait for me." Nico called as he headed to the small restroom that was in the corner of the empty infirmary.

As he waited for Nico, Will went to check up on the other three patients that still resided in the infirmary after the battle with Gaea. Mostly they were doing okay. Other than setting out half a square of ambrosia for a girl and giving a pain killer to a kid with a fractured ankle, there wasn't much else for Will to do until Nico came back. Will couldn't help but worry about him. He'd watched the way that Nico pushed people away, isolating himself by choice. There were a lot of people out there that cared for Nico. Why wouldn't he just accept it? Will refused to back away. He didn't care if Nico pushed him, shoved him, or even spit on him. Nico needed to know that someone was watching out for him, and while the rest of the Nico's friends were busy rebuilding what Gaea had destroyed, Will had made almost a silent pact with them that he would watch over Nico.

Will shook his head, realizing that he'd gotten lost in thought. How long had Nico been in the bathroom now? Fifteen minutes? How long did it take for one kid to relieve their bladder? Will figured that Nico would still be a few minutes and took the chance to head down to the mess hall to grab some breakfast for the both of them before the harpies cleaned up and started getting ready for lunch.

In the mess hall, Will spotted a few things. Jason sat alone at the Zeus table but was smiling as he iris messages his sister. Piper was laughing along with the other Aphrodite kids. Will noticed Percy making faces at Annabeth from the Poseidon table, and Jason kicking him in the shin, probably for talking about something inappropriate while Jason was talking to his sister.

Will made sure to grab two plates. One for himself with eggs and toast and the other for Nico-three pancakes with syrup, an orange, and two sausage links. Sure, it was a lot, but Will had seen the boy eat before and knew that if Nico had his appetite back then he wouldn't have a problem.

Suddenly, a shadow caught Will's eye. Resting both trays on the nearest empty table, which happened to be Hera's, Will turned only to see a whoosh of black hair duck behind a wall. Will knew that head of hair just as much as his own. "Nico..." Will shook his head. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in the bathroom."

Nico came out from behind the wall. A sausage wrapped up in a pancake hung out of his mouth. "I was," Nico muttered. Noticing the tray of food Will had picked up for him, Nico reached over and rested the other half of his breakfast on it. "But then I got hungry so while you were busy helping out who-knows-who, I came here."

"I was going to get you breakfast." Will protested.

"I see. Is this all you were going to give me?" Nico asked. He picked up a few more pancakes from the harpies and took a stack of toast as well. "Okay, now I'm ready."

Will raised an eyebrow. "You're...coming back willingly?"

Nico rolled his eyes. "Eating with you is better than eating alone. Plus I'd rather not be bombarded with questions by Superboy." Nico jabbed his thumb over at Jason who wasn't paying attention. Without saying anything else, Nico picked his breakfast up and headed back to the infirmary. Will was only left to follow.

After a large breakfast, Will insisted on giving Nico a checkup. It seemed like he was doing much better, but Will wanted to make sure that nothing else weird was going on.

"Come on, just take off your shirt so I can listen to your breathing and your heart."

"No." Nico spat, back to his old grumpy ways.

"When was the last time you were at the doctor, anyway? 1940?"

Nico grumbled about that they made him go to the doctor before being admitted to Westover Hall. "I don't need a checkup."

Will sighed. "You don't want a checkup. But you need one. Okay, I'll compromise. You get to keep your shirt on, but I'm still checking your breathing and heart. It'll just be harder for me."

Nico turned his back. "No."

By now, Will was getting a little frustrated. "You can't take care of yourself forever."

"Yes, I can! I've been doing just that for a long time now, Will. I don't need you watching out for me. When people try and take care of me they end up hurt. I'm a freak. I hate the fact that you keep insisting that you watch out for me. I hate the fact that you're always around. You're always there to see how I'm doing. Why won't you just leave me alone?"

Anger boiled inside Will. He was more than angry. All he wanted to do was make sure this kid was okay. But he didn't want to say something to piss Nico off more already. Will took a shaky breath, counted to ten, and began speaking in a calm voice. "You may not want me around, Nico," Will began. He spoke barely above a whisper. "But I can't help but worry about you. I can't just let you disappear into the shadows. You may not want other people to help you, but other people want to help you. They're not trying to pity you. They care about you, so they take care of you. I care about you."

Nico stood for several minutes without saying anything, trying to mull over what Will had just said. But Will didn't want to wait much longer. He took the stethoscope from his bag and walked over to Nico.

"...Wait." Nico paused. He hesitated for a moment before slipping his black t shirt off of his torso and sat down on the bed.

"Careful, it's cold." Will explained before placing the stethoscope on Nico's chest and instructing him to take deep breaths. Nico complied, but he was obviously very embarrassed about being half naked in front of someone. Will made sure to run a few other tests. He drew some of Nico's blood, tested his blood pressure, measures his height and weight and reflexes. Everything seemed to check out, but Will still made Nico drink a small glass of nectar before sending him back to bed.

After his little checkup Nico gladly put his shirt back on and climbed back into bed. Will brought back some lunch and the two boys spent the rest of the afternoon just...talking.

"What do you mean you don't like Disney movies?" Will asked, surprised.

"I don't like all the singing."

"Oh, come on! Singing to all of the songs in The Little Mermaid is the best part."

"But how can't you like horror movies?" Nico retaliated.

Will shook his head. "I see enough scary things in a regular life. I don't need to see that in a movie."

"Well I see more than enough singing at the campfire. I don't need to watch a movie with it."

"But singing is fun!"

"I think getting scared is fun."

They jumped from topic to topic. From movies, to what had been going on outside camp, to what Will had heard was going on at Camp Jupiter.

"I hear Reyna and Frank are trying to clean up the mess that Octavian made." Will explained.

At the thought of Octavian, Nico felt sick to his stomach. He still felt guilty over what had happened. "Do you think if I ask Chiron, he'll get me some material to redecorate the Hades Cabin?" Nico asked, quickly changing the topic.

"What, is it not brooding enough for you, death boy?" Will laughed.

"No, too brooding. Just because I'm the son of Hades doesn't mean I like living in the dark."

"Nico you wear shirts with skulls on them on a regular basis."

"Shut up."

They continued that way for the rest of the afternoon. Rarely did Will leave Nico's side. And when he did it was only for a few moments to check on one of the other demigods in the infirmary. After lunch Jason stopped in to say hello, but he caught Will and Nico in the middle of a joke and left them alone. Before they realized it, it was time for dinner. Nico didn't think anything of it until afterwards but he realized that he had every meal with Will Solace.

Will wasn't able to stay in the infirmity with Nico that night, but he promised Nico that he'd be there first thing in the morning.

"You don't have to wait up for me." Nico said.

"Yes, I do." Will winked as he left.

As Nico laid down and his rested on his pillow, Nico fell asleep thinking of Will Solace's golden glow.


	3. Day 3

"It's been three days, hasn't it?" Nico asked Will the next morning after breakfast. "I can finally leave, right?"

Will shook his head, much to Nico's dislike. "You've got to stay the full day. One more day of bed rest. You can leave tomorrow morning after one last check up." Will explained. "Now take your medicine, death boy."

Nico grumbled but he did as he was instructed, wincing as he swallowed the large pill. As much as he complained about being in the infirmary another day, he found that he didn't mind as much as long as Will was around. But much to Nico's dismay, Will was going to be busy with other things today. Demigods had gotten hurt while cleaning up from Gaea. Nico spotted two arms in slings, one demigod with a fever of 103, and three campers with twisted ankles. So while Will was busy going from patient to patient, Nico was left alone to his thoughts.

"You've got a visitor," Will quickly said as he rushed past Nico's bed. Behind him followed none other than Jason Grace himself.

"Hey, Nico."

"Jason? What are you doing here?"

"Will said he was going to be busy today and so I decided to pop in and give you some company." Jason explained. He sat in the chair that had been occupied by Will for the past two days. Nico couldn't place why, but seeing Jason sitting in the chair that Will had been practically living in gave him an unsettling feeling. "Hello? Earth to Nico."

Nico was pulled from his thoughts, not even realizing that his gaze had shifted to Will. "What did you ask?"

Jason didn't say anything, but his blue eyes followed Nico's gaze before settling on the son of Apollo. Jason turned back to Nico, raising a golden eyebrow.

"S-shut up, Grace." Nico spat. "I zoned out."

Jason cracked a small smile. "I wasn't going to say anything. But Will's a good kid. You can trust him."

Nico shook his head. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I could ask him, if you'd like."

"No."

"Fine, fine." Jason held his arms up in defense. "You win. But seriously, how have you been? I've been so busy with trying to get a list of all the gods and goddesses I've barely had time to eat."

Nico explained how he was feeling better and was no longer turning into a shadow. There were a few complaints about Will Solace, how he was being unfair about not letting Nico out until tomorrow morning, insisting that he stay in bed and even waiting outside the bathroom to make sure Nico didn't run off again.

"Hazel and Frank got back to Camp Jupiter by the way. Along with Reyna." Jason said.

"Yeah, I know."

"How? I thought Will wasn't letting you out of his sight?"

"He told me that yesterday."

"And what else has he told you?"

"That's none of your business."

Jason held back a laugh and stood. "It's been good talking to you, Nico. As much as I'd love to stay, I've got to get back to Chiron and Annabeth who's agreed to help me with this little project."

"You're such an idiot for taking on such a huge project. But...also smart too. It's good that all of the other gods get recognized. Not just the Olympians."

"I doubt I'll even finish in my lifetime. Unless the fates let me live until I've got them all built."

"Then you'll probably live until you're 500."

This time Jason did laugh. "Get better, Nico."

Nico watched as Jason left and was left alone yet again.

Will was busy until well after lunch, which Nico had slept through. Will was glad to finally get a break and stopped at the mess hall to pick up lunch. He took back his regular spot in the chair next to Nico's bed and watched him sleep for a few minutes. The kid just looked so peaceful and comfortable sleeping.

Will felt bad about waking him up for lunch, but after hearing Nico's stomach growl, Will would feel guilty if Nico skipped lunch and had to wait for dinner. Nico's eyes fluttered open and his lightly parted lips frowned. "We're you watching me sleep?"

"You sleep like a little baby," Will commented. He pulled out the ham and cheese sandwich and pear out for Nico to eat.

"I thought you would've realized by now that I eat more than this."

"Sorry, death boy, but this is all I managed to grab. I was too busy in here to actually get anything good."

"So you didn't have any lunch?"

"I has some applesauce."

"You're an idiot." Nico rolled his eyes and gave his pear to Will.

Will shook his head. "No, it's yours. You take it."

"I don't want it."

"I got it for you."

"I'm not hungry."

"You just said that you usually eat more than this."

"You have any proof I just said that?"

"I heard you."

"Any witnesses?"

Will ran a hand through his blond hair, but took the pear gratefully. "You're a complex kid, Nico."

"Not really. Ask Jason. Or Reyna."

Jason's name caught his attention. "He was here earlier, right? What did you guys talk about?" Will asked.

"None of your business." Nico replied. He took apart the sandwich and ate one piece of ham at a time.

"Oh, come on sourpuss."

Nico's face reddened. "I'm not telling."

"Fine, don't tell me." Will decided.

They ate lunch in silence. Will was only able to sit for a few minutes before the infirmary began picking up again. Will gave Nico a silent apology before returning back to work. That's how the day continued. Will would get a small break and sit with Nico for a few minutes before having to get up and help another injured demigod. Nico spent more time with himself than with Will. Normally he wouldn't mind, but he was beginning to realize how much he enjoyed being around Will's warm glow. Maybe it was a son of Apollo thing, but he actually felt like he was sitting in the sun on a summer's afternoon whenever Will was around.

Nico was almost upset when Will came around for his final checkup because it meant that he would have to leave soon.

By nightfall, Nico was the only one left in the infirmary besides Will. He liked it better that way. Nico repeated the routine of the night before, feeling nervous about taking off his shirt. But this time he was less hesitant, knowing that Will was doing this because he genuinely cared about Nico's well being...as strange a concept that was.

Will tested his breathing with the icy metal stethoscope again. "Sounds good," Will nodded. "I don't think you're fading anymore."

"Technically, I was turning into a shadow."

"You still need a rest from shadow traveling," Will directed. "For at least a month."

"I suppose I can live with that."

Nico didn't protest as Will turned his body, inspecting his chest and beating heart and blood pressure. All was seemingly normal. The entire time, Nico was extremely aware of Will, more so than in the past. His hand on Nico's shoulder, his fingers brushing against Nico's waist. He tried to act normal, but every movement, every touch, made Nico freeze up.

He hated that Will caught on. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"Freezing up every time I touch you."

"I...I don't know what you're talking about." Nico cursed at himself mentally, hating the face that he was like this.

"I thought we were over this already," Will sighed. "I'm not out to hurt you, Nico."

"I know that. I'm not an idiot."

"Then what is it?"

"I can't tell you."

"Nico, stop being such a little kid. Your not four-years-old. Put on your big boy pants and stop acting like there's a problem and then not telling me what the problem is. I can't fix something if I don't know what's wrong."

Nico shook his head. "It's not something you can fix. If I could change...it I would."

"Could you be straightforward for once?"

Nico wanted to be. He wanted to say the word, but found it impossible to speak. Instead he stood there, looking at the ground.

And that's when it clicked for Will. The conversations with Jason. The way Nico acted around other boys, especially himself. The talk he had with Jason when he was getting dinner for Nico made perfect sense now. What had Jason said? "Nico's different from other kids. He looks up to you Will, probably more than anyone. I see the way he looks at you. Take care of him." Will looked at Nico intently. "Why would you want to fix yourself? You're not broken."

And then everything happened at once.

Will looped his fingers through the belt loops on Nico's dark jeans, tugging him forward. He arched his back over, his body wrapping itself around Nico like he had to protect the younger boy. Will's face hovered above Nico's only for a moment before their lips came crashing together. Warmth suddenly spread over Nico's entire body, melting the ice that had come to inhabit him. Will's arms encased Nico's bear back, holding him tight. Nico was momentarily frozen, unsure how to react to Will's sudden advances. After a moment, Nico raised his arms, wrapping them around Will's neck and drew him closer. Nico and Will were messy. Their noses bumped together, they struggled for a breath, and Nico thought for a moment that he had stepped on Will's foot. Nico suddenly realized what was going on. What was really happening.

He pushed Will away and took several steps back to his bed. "What the hell was that, Solace." Nico coughed and glared at him.

"You know exactly what that was."

"I'm not...I can't...no, this isn't right."

"Nico..." Will went to rest a hand on Nico's shoulder, but he quickly pulled away. "This isn't 1940 anymore. Most people don't care."

"But a lot of people still do."

"Well I don't," Will scoffed. "So screw what everyone else thinks."

"I just...I'm not..."

Will shook his head. "Nico, everything's fine. Go as slow as you want. I'll wait for you."

"You don't have to wait for me."

Will stepped forward and Nico stepped back. His back fell onto the bed behind him and Will leaned over. His body almost laying on top of Nico's and his face only inches from the other boy's. Nico held his breath but could feel Will breathing on top of him. Nico wasn't sure what was going to happen next. Was Will going to kiss him again? Stare at him? Nico wasn't sure. Will was more predictable than Percy Jackson.

"Yes," Will finally said after what felt like forever. He lowered his face even more. "I do."


End file.
